This a rare historical image, the most recent gathering of the Balkan Monarchs, photograph taken on the occasion of the silver wedding anniversary of Crown Prince of Serbia. In the image l to r: King Simeon of Bulgaria, Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia, King Michael of Romania and King Constantine of Greece, 17 September 2010. Below is a 1912 photograph depicting a similar rare gathering, this time of Balkan Crown Princes: Alexander of Serbia, Boris of Bulgaria, Constantine of Greece, Ferdinand of Romania, Danilo of Montenegro. Diana Mandache

The Balkan Crown Princes at a gathering: Alexander of Serbia, Boris of Bulgaria, Constantine of Greece, Ferdinand of Romania, Danilo of Montenegro in 1912 (Diana Mandache collection)

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3 thoughts on “Balkan Monarchs, September 2010”

I was somewhat puzzled by the title of this remarkable and most interesting photograph since during my many visits to Romania I have been told that Romania is not part of the Balkans…. (Note that I have no idea whether Greec is considered as being part of the Balkans).

“Balkan” is a generic name for the entire South East Europe that has been under the domination of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. In my opinion, and also that of many established scholars, that is not a negative connotation, but a hallmark of the region, its personality, its individuality, just as Scandinavia, Central Europe or Iberia is. The understanding to which you refer is one used by the mass media for quite a long time now, ever since the Balkan Wars at the beginning of the 20th century. I, as a historian, and other intellectuals, do not agree with the press usage, proffering the nice, deeper understanding of this term.
Best regards,
Diana M.